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However, loopholes exist that mean cowboy trainers can still legitimately offer their services. “Although it is a good benchmark, being on the REPS is voluntary,” says Robin Gargrave, director of the YMCA’s fitness industry training department. “A good personal trainer will have all the skills to tailor a programme for someone’s needs,” Gargrave says. “But what too often happens is that ordinary gym staff pull on a personal trainer’s shirt to earn some extra money, even though they are not qualified to do anything other than take classes or supervise workouts. It is frightening.” It seems that we are heading the way of America, where lawsuits against personal trainers are increasingly common.

In the latest, in October, a Northern Virginia jury awarded $300,000 to a former US Navy sailor who sued a gym for a workout that left him permanently disabled. Makimba Mimms, 29, says that the high-intensity CrossFit circuit training session that he attended in December 2005 was led by an under-qualified trainer who did not supervise him properly. Medical documents produced at the trial revealed that he had suffered a severe case of rhabdomyolysis, a potentially fatal condition caused by the rapid breakdown of muscle fibres. As the muscle fibres are leaked into the bloodstream, their toxicity raises the risk of kidney damage or failure. He urinated blood and his legs swelled immediately after the session. Three years later, Mimms cannot stand for long periods and still experiences much pain.

Thornley’s warning to those who are eager to get fit is to proceed with caution and cynicism. “I was someone who had always been fit and was used to exercising, yet I have spent the past few years depressed, on painkilling drugs and in physiotherapy,” she says.

“You put your trust in a personal trainer but it can be exploited. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone.”

Choosing a personal trainer: essential tips

-Trainers’ fees range from £20 to £70 per hour. On average, you will need 2-3 sessions a week to get results. Britain’s leading personal trainer, Matt Roberts, says that a good trainer should ask detailed questions about your health, lifestyle and fitness history and carry out physiological assessments including heart rate, blood pressure and body fat tests.

- Make sure that there is no personality clash.

- Check out at least three trainers and contact them either via e-mail or by phone. Discuss your needs. If you don’t like the way they propose to train you, strike them off your list.

- Once you have decided on someone, always meet in a public place and ask to see his or her qualification certificates and insurance documents. He or she should also be trained in first aid.

- Check that the trainer is on the Register of Exercise Professionals (exerciseregister.org)

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